L’Unica Beauty celebrates 30 years on the front lines of style in Arizona and Nevada

When L'Unica Beauty opened its doors in 1986, big perms were still the rage, scrunchies and headbands were a must, and Cyndi Lauper was at the cutting edge of fashion and hair color. L'Unica Beauty is now celebrating it's 30th anniversary of providing premium products and education to the salon community in Arizona and Nevada, with a front-row seat to changing styles, preferences and trends in hair and hair care.

"L'Unica Beauty has been an important part of the Goldwell family for three decades," says Trevor Attenborough, General Manager of Kao Salon Division, North America. "They are as committed to the success of the stylists they serves as we are, and we congratulate the entire L'Unica Beauty team for their 30 years of excellence and growth."

L'Unica Beauty opened for business in Phoenix three decades ago as a one-brand, one-store professional hair products distributor. It then moved to Scottsdale and tripled their size 4 years ago. It has since opened a second location in Las Vegas and become a top resource in Arizona and Nevada for both products and specialized stylist education. In fact, many of the region's top colorists and hair stylists have trained at L'Unica Beauty. The distributor has also built a reputation for superb customer service and hair expertise.

Owner Tony Mezzatesta purchased L'Unica Beauty in 2004 from his friend and client Jerry Saperston. Mezzatesta had served as Saperston's CPA, but after years of visiting the store, he fell in love with the dynamic and social nature of the business and was hooked.

Today, L'Unica Beauty serves more than 800 salons in Arizona and Nevada on a regular basis. In Scottsdale, top salons including Dolce, Aura, and Epic Salons have been long-time clients and partners. At its newer Las Vegas location, L'Unica Beauty works with diverse salons as well as MGM and Caesars Entertainment properties. It also seeks out and supports new successful salons such as About Me Salon in Tucson and Synergy Salon in Gilbert. L'Unica Beauty has also been the exclusive full service distributor of Goldwell products in Arizona and Nevada for the past 30 years.

"We're fortunate to do business in two of the greatest destination locations in the U.S.," says Mezzatesta. "Doing business with most of the top resorts in Scottsdale/Phoenix has well prepared us for the Las Vegas market."

While both markets are known for luxury and resort-caliber services, Mezzatesta does see some contrasts. He notes that stylists in the Phoenix area are less transient, launching and developing their careers in the region. In Las Vegas, he sees more transplants from back east, and many salons tend to focus on blow drys and up-dos for weddings and other special events.

Mezzatesta's mission for L'Unica Beauty in Las Vegas is to create the same passion for education and personalized customer service that he has cultivated in Arizona. L'Unica Beauty's 900 sq. ft. classrooms are a rarity in the area, and its Las Vegas location right across from McCarran airport enables guest artists and customers to fly in and out quickly with a five-minute taxi ride.

Over its 30 year history, L'Unica Beauty has modernized and grown in other ways, too. Mezzatesta has expanded the salon's product line and footprint while retaining Saperston's devotion to long-term customer relationships with manufacturing partners, salon customers and with employees. Karen Maces has worked at the Scottsdale location since its grand opening in 1986 and is still behind the counter.

L'Unica Beauty today is also a heavy user of social media both as a marketing tool and a way to incentivize new clients. One unique perk the stores provide is support to salons and booth renters in setting up their own social media campaigns to promote themselves.

"We've come a long way in thirty years — Jerry would seek out new business with cold calls out of the yellow pages and knocking on salon doors," adds Mezzatesta. "We try to retain his work ethic and personal service, but we definitely take advantage of today's modern marketing resources."

L'Unica Beauty has three more locations planned and will be running a number of promotions throughout the year to celebrate this impressive anniversary.